Rahul Gandhi meets local Congress leaders and workers in Odisha

In a bid to revive the party in Odisha, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday met the local partymen and discussed the strategy in the wake of general elections due in 2014.

Terming the meeting as a 'successful interaction', Rahul Gandhi said the party has lot of potential in the state and it will definitely regain its strength in the coming days.

"I have been meeting and talking to local leadership and party workers in Odisha since the last two days. Today, I met the local leaders here and it was a successful interaction. I see a lot of potential for the party here, specially from the youth," said Rahul Gandhi.

"Some people complained that there is lack of discipline in the district and block level leadership, which will be taken care of properly," he added.

Gandhi, 42, who is in Odisha for the first time after being elevated as number two in the party, initially interacted with district-level workers and then with allied leaders on issues to be addressed to rejuvenate the party.

The party has been out of power in the state since 2000.

Pradeep Majhi, a local Congress leader, said that Rahul Gandhi interacted with all the rural and local leaders to grasp the reasons why the Congress party's was lagging in the state.

"Rural votes in the state were always in favour of Congress and the reason behind that were the Congress workers and the various village chiefs of the party; they are the lifeline of the party. It was due to their efforts that the Congress party last won an election in Odisha. So he wanted to directly talk to them and ask them the limitations and the reasons behind the Congress losing elections in the state," aid Majhi.

During his two-day Odisha visit, Rahul Gandhi has received feedback from grassroots level leaders and discussing norms for selection of candidates, he said, besides obtaining opinions of partymen in this regard. (ANI)